RM - Dealing with ethical issues

Question 1

What is a cost-benefit analysis?

Answer 1

A systematic approach to estimating the negative and positive impact of any research.

Question 2

What is debriefing?

Answer 2

A post-research interview designed to inform participants of the true nature of the study and to restore them to the physical and psychological state they were in at the start of the study. It may also be used to gain useful feedback about the procedures in the study. It is not an ethical issue; it is a means of dealing with ethical issues.

Question 3

What are ethical guidelines (code of conduct)?

Answer 3

A set of principles designed to help professionals behave honestly and with integrity.

Question 4

What is the ethics committee?

Answer 4

A group of people within a research institution that must approve a study before it begins.

Question 5

What is presumptive consent?

Answer 5

A method of dealing with a lack of informed consent or deception, by asking people who are similar to the participants whether they would agree to take part in the study. If they consent, it is presumed that the real participants would also agree.

Question 6

What are the strengths of ethical guidelines?

Answer 6

The ‘rules and sanctions’ approach of the BPS and APA ethical guidelines has strengths in terms of the clarity it offers.

Question 7

What are the limitations of ethical guidelines?

Answer 7

Inevitably rather general as it is virtually impossible to cover every conceivable situation that a researcher may encounter.

Approach tends to close off discussions about what is right and wrong as the answers are provided.

Guidelines absolve the individual researcher of any responsibility as the researcher can just say that they followed the guidelines so their research is acceptable.

Question 8

What is the Canadian approach and what are the strengths of this?

Answer 8

They present a series of hypothetical dilemmas for psychologists to discuss meaning that it stimulates debate encouraging psychologists to engage deeply with ethical issues rather than just following rules.

Question 9

What are the limitations of a cost-benefit analysis?

Answer 9

It is difficult if not impossible to predict both costs and benefits prior to conducting the study.

Difficult to assess costs and benefits even after conducting a study.

Cost-benefit analysis approach solves nothing because you simply exchange one set of dilemmas (the ethical issues) for another.

Question 10

What happens if psychologists do behave in an unethical manner?

Answer 10

Then the BPS reviews the research and may decide to bar the person from practising as a psychologist. It is not a legal matter and they will not be sent to prison.

Question 11

How do you deal with informed consent?

Answer 11

• Participants asked to formally indicate their agreement to participate e.g. by signing a document containing comprehensive information concerning the nature and purpose of the research and their role in it.
• Gain presumptive consent.
• Researchers must offer the right to withdraw.

Question 12

What are the limitations of dealing with informed consent?

Answer 12

If participant is given full information about a study this may invalidate the purpose of the study.

Even if researchers have obtained informed consent, that does not guarantee that participants really do understand what they have let themselves in for.

The problem with presumptive consent is what people expect that they will or will not mind can be different from actually experiencing it.

Question 13

How do you deal with deception?

Answer 13

Need for deception should be approved by the ethics committee weighing up the costs and benefits.

Participants should be fully debriefed after the study which involves being informed of the true nature of the study. They should be offered the opportunity to discuss any concerns they may have and to withhold their data from the study - a form of retrospective informed consent.

Question 14

What are the limitations of dealing with deception?

Answer 14

Cost-benefit decisions are flawed as they involve subjective judgements and the costs and/or benefits are not always apparent until after the study.

Debriefing can’t turn the clock back and a participant may still feel embarrassed or have lowered self-esteem.

Question 15

How do you deal with the right to withdraw?

Answer 15

Participants should be informed at the beginning of a study that they have the right to withdraw.

Question 16

What are the limitations of dealing with the right to withdraw?

Answer 16

Participants may feel they shouldn’t withdraw as it will spoil the study.

Participants in many studies are paid or rewarded in some way and may not feel able to withdraw.

Question 17

How do you deal with protection from harm?

Answer 17

Avoid any risks greater than experienced in everyday life.

Stop the study if harm is expected.

Question 18

What are the limitations of dealing with protection from harm?

Answer 18

Harm may not be apparent at the time of the study and only judged later with hindsight.

Question 19

How do you deal with confidentiality?

Answer 19

Researcher shouldn’t record the names of any participants.

They should use numbers of false names to represent individual participants.

Question 20

What are the limitations of dealing with confidentiality?

Answer 20

Sometimes possible to work out who the participants were using information that has been provided so therefore in practise confidentiality may not fully be possible.

Question 21

How do you deal with privacy?

Answer 21

Do not study anyone without their informed consent unless it is in a public place and public behaviour.

Question 22

What are the limitations of dealing with privacy?

Answer 22

There is no universal agreement about what constitutes a public place.